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I didn't get this job because of my race, but I can't help getting a sinking feeling whenever I introduce myself as next semester's managing editor and listeners furrow their eyebrows for a millisecond.
Maybe they're surprised by my youth, or maybe they think I'm inexperienced. But what bothers me most is that they may think I only made my way to the top because I'm Chinese.
With today's abundance of minority-focused opportunities in journalism, it's become obvious that I could get a job just for being a minority.
I had barely started writing for The Orion in August when one of my advisers gave me an application for the Chips Quinn Scholars Program. I was only a sophomore, but my adviser said I should apply because I had junior standing.
After a while, I noticed the heading's second line - "for Diversity in Journalism."
I've researched internships before, and this application seemed to be offering a lot of opportunity for not much effort. I'd never heard of any other internship that said it was OK to turn in class work if you didn't have published articles.
I had to send in a color headshot of myself, which I'm guessing was to verify my ethnicity. I didn't win the Chips Quinn internship, but I know there's always another chance waiting.
Having to use my race as a selling point has made me think about how big a deal diversity is in media. Journalism is meant to be a forum for public thought, with a basic principle being to cater to a distinct audience.
I'm sure there's been race-specific coverage of the immigration legislation because certain groups want to know how they will be affected. Latinos want to read specific, practical details about what's going on. They want to know about changes to the system and if family members could potentially be deported. Faced with a such sensitive topic, newspapers think, "Who better to connect with that group than someone of the same heritage?"
When I get a job, I don't want to be working the "Asian beat." If I get hired by the San Francisco Chronicle, I don't want to cover the Chinese New Year parade every year.
What is it about being a black-haired, 5-foot-tall Chinese woman with a big smile that immediately puts me ahead of the race for a career?
Maybe it's because audiences want to be able to relate to the news and the people who report it, especially TV anchors. They want to see people like themselves showing what's going on in the world. The United States is essentially a country of immigrants, so it makes sense to see more minorities in media.
The issue of getting people of all ethnicities into the news isn't going to go away with time, but that doesn't mean minority students should be given special treatment just to meet an idealistic goal.
Sharon Marie Yep can be reached at
entertainmenteditor@orion-online.net
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